Lumbar puncture position in infants-a systematic review and meta-analysis.

"Declarations Ethics approvalNot applicable to meta-analysis. Consent to participateNot applicable to meta-analysis. Consent for publicationNot applicable to meta-analysis. Conflict of interestThe authors declare no competing interests. Conflict of interest The authors declare no competing interests."

"Funding Open access funding provided by University of Eastern Finland (UEF) including Kuopio University Hospital."

"  Trial registration : This review was registered in PROSPERO. ID: CRD42022382953. What is Known:•  Success rate in lumbar puncture has been poor and first attempt success rate has varied between 50 to 80% in literature.•  Optimal lumbar puncture positions for infants have been debated between sitting and lateral decubitus position mostly.What is New:•  This is the first meta-analysis focused on lumbar puncture positions in infants, and it found that sitting position was equal to standard lateral position.• Prone position and head elevated lateral positions had higher first puncture success rates, but these were assessed both only in one study, which creates uncertainty to the finding."